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Topic: Frostbite [Closed] (Read 2089 times)

Arching an eyebrow down towards Aurelia, Savas continued to follow her in silence. His emotions were still raw from his visit with Rubra, so he decided to use this time to reinforce the mental walls around his mind so as to not lose his composure again.

It wasn't until Aurelia spoke up again that Savas looked closely at his surroundings. They were standing before a simple house that spoke of nothing very extravagant. Watching Aurelia knock lightly on the door, he took notice that she seemed the be shivering. Folding his arms across his chest, he let out a slight sigh. "Ngggrh...cold, isn't it?" he asked softly, his breath coming out as a mist in the cold air. After waiting a moment, he looked at the door. "Perhaps you should knock again?" he inquired, looking back down at Aurelia.

"Haha, yeah. Pretty cold," Aurelia said as she raised her fist toward the door once again. "Let me do that". Before her fist could make contact, the door cracked open to reveal a man a couple inches taller than Aurelia with blond, freshly-cut hair and bright-green eyes. He was dressed in fairly comfy clothing and in his left hand was a wooden cane. A wave of warmth rolled over Aurelia, her body feeling relief from the cold.

The man's eyes widened as he realized who his visitor was. "Aurelia! It's good to see you! And...," he turned toward Savas and paused. "...Savas...?" he said a little less enthusiastically. "How could I almost forget the Red Giant. I'm Nicolas, Aurelia's partner back in the day. Come, get out of the cold!" he said as he gestured for them to come inside.

His home was fairly modest with the main space doubling as the living room and dining space. The floor was completely stone with rugs strewn about to keep things comfortable. On one wall was a fireplace alongside a stack of firewood. On a perpendicular wall was a small TV, currently off, mainly used to catch broadcasts from Vale. In the middle of the room was a table large enough to comfortably seat four with the number of wooden chairs to match. On the table was a closed book with a ribbon protruding from its innards.

"Have a seat, you two," Nicolas said as he went around the table pulling out chairs. Aurelia thanked him as she sat down. He hesitated as he was about to pull out a chair for Savas, instead dragging over a nearby, moderately-sized trunk instead. "And this one's for you," he directed at Savas before sitting down himself.

Following Aurelia and Nicolas into the house, Savas ducked to get through the doorway. Closing the door behind him, he was thankful to get out of the cold and into a warm house. The cold didn't quite bother him all that much, but he preferred the heat much more. The inside of the house reminded him much of his own family's home, though a bit more tidier. Looking around the residence briefly, it appeared as though Nicolas was the only one who lived here, something that slightly impressed Savas as it must've taken a lot of resources and funds to build a home as nice as this one.

Taking up Nicolas' offer to sit on the trunk, Savas took his seat, the trunk groaning under his weight. Remembering the nickname Nicolas called him earlier, he couldn't help but smirk slightly as he recalled the numerous times his peers around him called him that whenever they would spar or train together. If he recalled, it was either the teacher or Vigdus himself who started calling him that and it quickly spread like wildfire throughout the rest of the nearby clans.

Suppressing any and all thoughts of Vigdus, Savas quickly tried to think of something to say in hopes of maybe breaking the ice as he sat on the trunk. However, nothing came immediately to mind, so he simply looked over at the fireplace, reveling in the warmth, as he waited for one of the others to speak.

Nicolas made it way to the opposite side of the table, leaning on it to keep himself stable. He pulled out a chair, and when he finally was able to sit down again, he sighed in relief. Aurelia fidgeted slightly. The air was silent for a moment as everyone just seemed to sit still in the stagnant air. Nicolas finally broke the ice. So, what brings you two here together?" he asked, his hands softly tapping on the wooden table. "The weather is horrible this time of year, after all".

"Actually, we just happened to visit Praetor Rubra and I wanted to stop by to see how things were going," Aurelia replied. Her hands were clasped beneath the table.

"So that's what this was about," Nicolas said as he turned toward Savas. He stopped tapping the table. "Tell me, Savas, what have you got to save for yourself?"

Sitting there watching the other two, Savas merely listened to Nicolas and Aurelia talking, despite his attention not being fully on the conversation at hand. Despite anything the others were saying, he continued to focus his efforts on getting his emotions back under control. However, it was when Nicolas directed his attention towards Savas, that he brought his full attention back to the conversation.

"Ngggrh...Not much worth saying" Savas muttered, his deep voice rumbling through the room as he looked towards the fireplace briefly. "Praetor Rubra merely wanted to check in on things at the Academy." Turning his attention back to Nicolas, Savas rolled his shoulders and then proceeded to take Sandalphon and Metatron off his back. Considering the turn of things, it looked as though they would be sticking around here for at least a few minutes so he decided it be best to be comfortable while at it.

Nicolas leaned away from the table and let out a sigh. He tapped on the wood with his knuckles. "Oh, you spoke with the Praetor already, huh?" He crossed his arms. "Though I still feel like beating your ass for not showing up. If you haven't visited her already, you better before you leave or else." Nicolas unwrapped his arms and punched his fist a couple of time in jest. For the most part.

"Listen Savas. You still have the power to protect others. I don't, not with my leg," he patted it a few times, "and unfortunately, Vigdus can't as well. Everyone who can't either looks up to you, wishing they had or still had the power to fight. It's not something to take for granted. But most importantly, Nicolas retrieved his cane and held it near the base, putting the handle lightly under Savas' chin, "no looking back. No matter what. He withdrew the cane. "Got it?"

Listening to Nicolas speak, Savas merely nodded in response to his final remark. Savas oftentimes forgot that Frouri wasn't a large city and so news traveled fast through the town. Vigdus' death was no mere matter and Savas heard that the funeral for him had much of the town attending. Despite the traumatizing experience Savas went through to the point that he was holed up in his room for weeks after the tragedy, he still regretted the fact that he didn't go to the funeral for his best friend and brother in arms.

Focusing his attention back on the duo in the same room as him, Savas folded his arms across his chest, almost in an act of stubbornness. "Looking forward is all I can do now to honor those that have gave so much" he said quietly, his voice resonating through the room. "It's the only way I can honor Vigdus both in life and in death now" he added, looking at Aurelia first and then at Nicolas. It truly would be dishonorable of him if he were to step down and back away when Vigdus gave so much to fight for what he believed as right. If he were to do that now, surely Vigdus' spirit would come back to haunt him. Auburn as well... he thought, slightly amused at the thought of Auburn haunting him for the rest of his life before coming back to the reality of things.

Nicolas nodded and let out a sigh of relief. "I've had that one in me for a while now. I'm glad to finally off my chest". He pointed his cane toward the ceiling. "Now that we've got that out of the way, how about I send you two off with a little...spar," Nicolas said. It was hard to tell if he was being serious or not.

Aurelia nearly coughed up her drink. "Excuse me? Not in your...condition...," her voice trailed off. She was fully aware of how he would respond.

"Nobody believed that I could fight anymore. And they were right. But I don't want to sit on the sidelines for the rest of my life so I've been trying to figure out a way to work around my weakness. What do you say? Would you like a sneak peek, Savas?" he grinned.

Taken aback by Nicolas' request to spar, Savas quickly hid his surprise on his face. Sitting around reminiscing on the past was one of the last things he would have wanted to do and, after everything that happened earlier with Praetor Rubra, Savas was itching to fight something or someone just to get his mind off of things.

"Ngggrh...It would be an honor to spar with you" Savas said quietly, his voice interjecting before Aurelia could protest further. Standing up, he rolled his shoulders before cracking his neck. "Besides..." he added, picking up Sandalphon and Metatron. "...I've been rather itching to do something more than dwell on the past" he growled, his voice rumbling through the room as he smirked first at Nicolas and then at Aurelia.

In truth, Nicolas has been bluffing, at least partly. He was developing a fighting style to work around his weakness. He could never convince anyone to spar with him, though, not even Praetor Rubra so a fight with Savas would certainly be out of the question. But the grin on his face never faded.

Nicolas shot out of his chair, Aurelia, surprised by the move, shot up herself afraid that he would hurt himself, but she soon realized that he was fine. She sighed. Nicolas tapped his cane against the floor. "Typical rules apply," he said as he started to move about and rummage through some boxes. "And of course: no holding back." Out of a box emerged a few what-appeared-to-be silver bracelets. He tossed one to Savas and then one to Aurelia for good measure. They were aura trackers, designed to send aura information to a display. Unfortunately they were still catching up on some Valish technologies and gadgetless, accessoryless aura tracking was one of those areas.

He put his on before continuing toward the fire. He grabbed a nearby spade and carefully placed ashed atop the flame, and when they seemed to be dying down, he grabbed a bucket full of a sand-ash mixture and dumped that into the fireplace. The home grew fairly dark, the only light coming in through past the window blinds.

"Let's get going." He took hold of his cane once more and opened the door.

Catching the bracelet, Savas fussed over getting it over his large wrist. Having it fastened securely, he looked over to see Nicolas putting out the fire. As the house took on a darkened demeanor, Savas simply walked through the door and squinted slightly as he looked up to the dreary sky. The wind had picked up, causing a slight chill to creep through his armor. Letting out a sigh, he merely watched the mist from his breath blow away into the air above.

Turning around to face Nicolas and Aurelia, Savas harnessed his weapons in their respective places on his back. "You sure about this?" he asked simply. Despite his eagerness to get into a good fashioned sparring match, he was hesitant about it if it meant his opponent being Nicolas. Folding his arms across his chest, primarily due to the cold wind, he arched an eyebrow towards Nicolas' direction. "We need not spar if you don't want to." he added, trying not to give any indication that he was looking down at the other man. Knowing some of what had happened to Nicolas, Savas had nothing but respect for the man so he did not want to come off as rude or dishonorable towards him or Aurelia for that matter.

"I'm sure. Whether it be now or later, this is something I need to do. For myself".

After a few minutes, the party arrived at an outdoor sparring arena. The terrain, having been freshly cleared, was hard dirt.On one side of the arena was the aura display, capable of displaying up to eight individuals and built to withstand all sorts of weather. Everywhere else along the perimeter of the arena were stands where spectators would watch fights, but currently they were vacant. The arena itself was decently sized, large enough to comfortably accommodate two individuals, but once the number is ramped up to eight, it gets a bit crowded.

Aurelia plopped herself down on one of the seats, a look of slight worry spread across her face. Nicolas made his way to one end of the arena and equipped the bracelet. When he turned it on, the arena's aura display lit up with his name and a full aura bar. He tapped his cane against the ground and his nickle-colored aura began to shimmer.

Following behind Nicolas and Aurelia silently, Savas merely took in the scenery of his hometown. Despite the dreary weather, the town buzzed with activity from shops opening up to showcase their wares to a few small children running down the pavement, laughing as they went along. Here and there, he caught a few gazes on him, though many of them merely nodded their head in acknowledgement of the giant faunus, to which he nodded back politely.

Arriving at the outdoor arena, Savas took a moment to get himself prepared for a fight. Walking over to the other side of the arena from Nicolas, he smirked slightly as he saw the faint glimmering around Nicolas. "Ngggrh...guess we're not holding back" he remarked, also activating his semblance. As he began to glow a dark crimson, he closed his eyes and let the faint picture of his team flash before his eyes. I will live on for them he thought as his semblance activated and he let out a loud shout, as if challenging the heavens itself. With his semblance glowing around him like a raging fire, Savas pushed off, breaking the hardened dirt with his weight and force as he came charging straight at Nicolas, Sandalphon held at shoulder length to do a downward swing on the man.

Nicolas watched as Savas charged toward him. While he looked calm on the outside, his heart was racing. There was no sense in blocking or parrying any of his attacks--Savas would break you all the same--so the next logical thing would be to dodge. Coupled with the fact that Nicolas was handicapped, a brief feeling of regret shot through his mind. He took a deep breath and felt his heart ease up a little.

"This is no time for hesitation, Nick," he said beneath his breath. The glow of his aura grew stronger around his cane-wielding hand, and as Savas approached with his sword raised, a flurry of propulsion Dust was released from his cane. With a short flash of light, Nicolas was sent flying away from Savas. The impact was something he had to get used to, but he was able to retain his footing nonetheless, albeit barely.

Nicolas switched to attack mode immediately, knowing that he had to keep Savas out of attack range for as long as he could. The aura around his hand glowed again, and this time there was a mix of ice along with the propulsion Dust. He waved his free hand and two icicles formed from thin air, and with a quick gesture toward Savas, they shot towards him.

Watching Nicolas fly away from him with amazing speed, Savas had only a brief moment to be surprised before two icicles came flying straight at him. Unable to dodge, he raised his sword to help block one of the icicles, but was hit hard by the second one in his abdomen, causing him to grunt and take a step back from the impact. "Ngggrh...not bad" he muttered, reassessing his options. Seeing that Nicolas was keeping a far distance from him, Savas could only assume that he would continue to do so in hopes of having the advantage.

Changing his plan of attack, Savas proceeded to running perpendicular to Nicolas. Pulling Metatron off his back, he slammed Sandalphon into it, causing the two to become one. Wield Halvanhelev with one hand, he continued his long strides as he pulled a dust cylinder and loaded it. "Lets do this!" he roared, rotating the cylinder so that an air crystal was the first to be used. Swinging Halvanhelev with a brute force, it created a horizontal slash of highly pressurized air that went straight towards Nicolas. Hopefully that'll stun him slightly he thought as he rotated the cylinder to a lightning crystal. Pivoting on his left leg, he sprinted as fast as he could towards Nicolas, hoping to close the distance enough so that he could use the crystal to stun him.